[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 146 (Monday, September 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO BOWLING GREEN'S GAINES FAMILY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, after five generations and 140 years 
of ownership, Bowling Green, Kentucky's Gaines Family has made the 
difficult decision to sell their newspaper, the Bowling Green Daily 
News. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring these towering 
figures in Bowling Green's history, thanking them for their service to 
the Commonwealth, and wishing the best for their paper's success under 
its new owners.
  The Gaineses laid down the roots of the Bowling Green Daily News in 
1882 when John B. Gaines founded the Bowling Green Daily Times. At the 
time, the city sported several newspapers, but the Gaines family's 
paper quickly rose above the rest. The Daily Times later merged with 
its chief rival, the Bowling Green Democrat, to create a new daily 
called the Park City Daily News. The paper's name derived from Bowling 
Green's nickname, ``beautiful park city,'' given to the city in an 1892 
speech by Congressman and journalist Henry Watterson. The paper dropped 
its new moniker after nearby Glasgow Junction, KY, rechristened itself 
Park City in 1938, adopting Bowling Green Daily News as its name 
shortly thereafter.
  In the decades following, local newspapers around the country 
consolidated into large news media corporations. The Gaines family 
remained fiercely independent, though, keeping their paper family-owned 
and -operated despite outside pressure. They understood that, to 
provide the best possible coverage of life, breaking news, sports, and 
politics in Bowling Green, the paper had to be run by a local family 
with deep ties to the community. The Gaines family passed ownership 
down from one generation to another, and by this year, the Bowling 
Green Daily News was one of the oldest family-owned newspapers 
remaining in the South.
  From my first run for statewide office until today, I have had the 
pleasure of working closely with the Bowling Green Daily News's 
editorial and news teams. Often when I visit Bowling Green, I go 
straight to the paper's offices to meet with members of the editorial 
board and the Gaines family to discuss current events in the 
Commonwealth. Alone among most of Kentucky's largest papers, the 
Bowling Green Daily News opinion pages are filled with a diversity of 
ideas and discourse. As a result, their editorials usually come closest 
to reflecting what most Kentuckians actually believe about their State 
and our politics.
  Over the decades, I have developed a close working relationship with 
the Gaines family and especially Pipes Gaines, the publisher emeritus 
of the Bowling Green Daily News. Pipes joined the family paper full-
time in 1966, following a career in the U.S. Army that included Active 
Duty in Korea. He has been a mainstay of the paper ever since, 
navigating rapid changes in the media industry and shepherding the next 
generation of talent into leadership roles at the newspaper, including 
his sons, Scott and Steve Gaines. Last year, Scott succeeded his father 
as the paper's publisher and joined his brother, who serves as an 
editor, as the fifth generation of Gaineses to help lead the Bowling 
Green Daily News.
  The Gaines family delivered an immense service to Bowling Green by 
running the city's flagship paper, but refused to keep their public 
works confined strictly to the family business. In 2007, the Gaines 
family created the Gaines Family Fund for Excellence in Print 
Journalism at Bowling Green's Western Kentucky University, forming an 
incubator for future local journalists at WKU's School of Journalism 
and Broadcasting. This type of generosity was part and parcel of the 
Gaineses' success, demonstrating a deep dedication for, and connection 
to, life in Bowling Green.
  The Gaines family's impact on Bowling Green has been felt all across 
Kentucky. From media, to education, to philanthropy, their 
extraordinary work on the Commonwealth's behalf will have an enduring 
impact. I thank the entire Gaines family for their stewardship of 
Kentucky's news media and wish them the best in the next stages of the 
family's life.

                          ____________________